Son of Bears
by uoduck
Summary: As Bilbo comes back from scouting ahead, he comes back with interesting news. Well, interesting for Gandalf anyway. There were two bears in the countryside instead of the one that he had been expecting. Also, the whole bear thing was news to Thorin Oakenshield and his company anyway. Harry/Thranduil, Bilbo/Thorin
1. Chapter 1

AN: I do not own either Harry Potter or Hobbit. This will be Harry/Thranduil.

* * *

Bilbo stared at the two bears right across the valley from him. They were giant, probably a lot bigger than other bears that the hobbit had seen. One was deep brown and the other was pure white, a little whiter than Azog's white warg, which Bilbo was grateful for. He didn't think his nerves could take anymore close up encounters with either that warg or that particular orc. He didn't think Thorin could take anymore up close and personal encounters with the orc, at least without any dwarf guarding his back. Both bears were staring down at the valley, almost like they were patrolling or guarding it.

As Bilbo further surveyed the valley, he did see the aforementioned orcs and wargs. The orcs were wonderfully, far off, like they were keeping well away from the two bears. Bilbo huffed and climbed back to the ground, being careful to not make any noise.

When he finally reached the place where he had left the company, he heaved a sigh of relief.

"Well?" Balin asked. All of the dwarves leaned in to hear what Bilbo had to say, including Thorin.

And when Thorin strode over to Bilbo's side and looked the hobbit over with a keen eye, Bilbo flushed. This was entirely new to him; this attention that Thorin gave him now. It had all started at the Carrock and Bilbo still remembered being pulled into a hug by Thorin quite fondly.

He shook his head then turned to look at the rest of the company. "The wargs are many miles away."

The dwarves cheered, albeit quietly, and Nori came over to thump Bilbo on the shoulder in congratulations. Bilbo rolled his eyes at him but smiled nonetheless.

"Didn't I tell you that he would be a good burglar?" Gandalf spoke to the dwarves. "Quiet like a mouse and quick on his feet."

Bilbo reached out a hand to stop the dwarves from saying anything else. "Uh, there was something else though. We may have a small, well in this case, giant, problem."

"Something else?" Thorin enquired, turning to look at Bilbo.

"Giant?" Dwalin repeated.

Gandalf looked thoughtful. He was scratching his chin then turned to look out to where Bilbo had come from. "Was this problem bear shaped?"

"Bear... How did you know?" Bilbo asked as Thorin took a step closer to Bilbo, almost touching him. Bilbo was not proud to say that he squeaked a little. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Thorin smile a little.

"Hmm," Gandalf murmured, turning to look further up the path. "We should move on."

A few seconds later, Gandalf remarked, "I know of a man who might take us in for a few nights. He lives a mile or two away from here."

"Might?" Thorin asked, narrowing his eyes at the wizard.

"He may either let us use his home... Or he might kill us," Gandalf replied nonchalantly.

Bilbo's jaw dropped and he gaped as he noticed the others doing the same. "Kill us?"

"Let us go," Gandalf announced, gesturing to the path ahead of them.

Bilbo rolled his eyes but followed the wizard, hearing Thorin start to walk behind him.

* * *

The minute they all heard roaring, they all started to run, or run quicker. It sounded like bears to Bilbo but he had never heard bears being this loud before. They had run through a forest and now they were flat out running over a valley that had the occasional creek running through it. It was roughly a couple of hours after midnight so the sun had yet to rise. And it was cold! If they hadn't been running, he probably would have needed to borrow one of the blankets that the dwarves had.

"Come on! Hurry!" Gandalf shouted down the line.

Bilbo was running behind Gandalf and suddenly Bombur over took him. Bilbo gaped at the rotund dwarf then took a minute to turn and look behind him.

The second he saw what was behind them, Bilbo paled. Both of the bears that he had seen earlier were full on charging the dwarves. Though it looked like the white one was going at a slower pace than the brown one was.

"Come on, halfling!" Thorin murmured, coming up behind him and, Eru help him, the dwarf scooped Bilbo up in his arms.

"Thorin!" Bilbo yelled, a little half-heartedly. "Put me down this instant!"

"I don't think you would like to get eaten by a bear, now would you?" Thorin replied, a little smugly.

Bilbo sighed, already feeling the warmth that was coming from Thorin. He knew that he would prefer not to get eaten by a bear but why did it have to be Thorin to be the one to pick him up? Why did it have to be the dwarf that he had started to have feelings for? He groaned but nonetheless curled into Thorin's chest, pleased at feeling a little warmer.

As they ran, all of them could see the mysterious cabin that they were apparently running to. When they reached the door, Gandalf opened it and ushered everyone inside, closing it behind them. Though as the bears had drawn very close, Bilbo startled in Thorin's arms when there was a loud bang on the door. Like it was two very big bodies hitting the door at the same time or perhaps one right after the other. Thorin tightened his arms around Bilbo as he saw the other dwarves put their hands on their weapons. But after the first bang, he couldn't hear anything else except the soft padding of big furred feet and quiet whuffling.

"What was that?" Dori asked, turning to glance up at Gandalf.

The wizard had a peculiar look on his face, almost as if he had quite expected the bear but had miscalculated or something.

Gandalf shook his head and turned to address the dwarves. "That was our host. At least, the brown one was. I am very much in the dark about the white bear however."

Bilbo quietly chuckled as the wizard looked very put off by not knowing about the white bear.

"Our host?" Dwalin asked, his hand still on his war hammer.

"Yes, our host. He is called Beorn and he is a skin-changer," Gandalf replied, pulling his hat off and placing it on a nearby rack on the closest wall. "We shall stay here for a few days and resupply and rest. Be sure to stay inside during the night, though."

"A skin-changer?" Bilbo asked, sliding down from Thorin's chest as the dwarf let him down though not without tightening his arms around Bilbo for a second.

"Yes, he is a bear during the night and a man during the day. However, the bear is most unreliable when it comes to telling friend from foe. The man is more agreeable," Gandalf remarked, pulling out his pipe.

"'Tis unnatural," Dori muttered.

Bilbo watched as the dwarves started to spread out to find suitable spots for their bedrolls. He took that time to look around at their surroundings. The home was covered in straw and there were... horses and cows in the home, looking at the dwarves with odd looks. The furniture was big, bigger than most Tall Folk's furniture was.

He started to wander around the home and he occasionally stopped to say hi to the animals who seemed more intelligent than regular horses and cows.

* * *

Bilbo was woken up in the middle of the night by a door opening. He stayed hidden in his bedroll but peeked his head out. There were two people walking into the home, up by the table. They were both men, though one looked younger than the other and both were not wearing very much clothing. Both human men were of the same height which meant they were very very much taller than Bilbo.

The older man had dark brown hair all around his head, almost like a dwarf but not quite. The younger man had black hair but Bilbo could see that he had white strands through out it. That did imply something to Bilbo but his mind was too muzzy with sleep to understand it.

Bilbo watched as the two came down the steps and stopped at the foot of them. He heard them muttering to each other but couldn't make out what they were saying. But he did hear the words "dwarves, orcs and elves."

The last thing he heard before he fell back asleep was a light chuckle from the younger man.

* * *

Bilbo woke up the next morning, a little warmer than he had been when he had fallen asleep. He blinked his eyes open and discovered that Thorin had laid his coat on top of Bilbo, again. He grinned sleepily then as soon as his stomach growled, he stretched and moved to stand up. The dwarves had all gotten up before him as their bedrolls were all empty.

He padded over and up to the elevated space with the table in the middle of the room. All of the dwarves were sitting around the table, drinking out of big mugs of milk? He glanced around the table and realized the only space available was the space right next to Thorin. Bilbo sighed, grinned a little, then moved to sit in between Thorin and Fíli.

Only after sitting down did he realize that both men from last night were standing at the fireplace that was next to the table and staring at him. Gandalf was staring at them too, though with more tact than Bilbo was.

Bilbo glanced at Fíli and poked him.

Fíli turned to look at him curiously.

"Who are they?"

"They are our hosts," Thorin turned to look down at him. "Good morning, Master Baggins."

"Good morning, Thorin," Bilbo hesitantly returned.

Thorin smiled at him then turned to look up at the tall folk.

"Your route goes through the Mirkwood, yes?" The older man asked, walking over to stare at Thorin. The younger man too strode over to stand by the table after pulling a big chest from the corner of the room. This close Bilbo could readily see that there were more than a couple strands of white through the younger man's hair. Beorn glanced at him and narrowed his eyes. The younger glared at him and huffed out a sigh.

"Ah, yes it does," Gandalf remarked, pulling out his pipe.

"I would not go through that forest unnecessarily," Beorn replied. "Only if it were urgent."

"It is urgent," Thorin broke in. "We need to reach Esgaroth before next month."

Beorn turned to stare at Thorin, only after sparing a glance at Bilbo.

"Why is the little bunny with you?" Beorn asked after a minute or two. The younger man started to chuckle for minute or two. The other dwarves started to snicker too as it was quite obvious that Beorn was referring to Bilbo.

"Excuse me?" Bilbo spluttered, choking on a bite of toast. "I'm not a bunny!"

"Da, I don't think the hobbit likes that," The younger man finally spoke, hiding what was clearly a smile behind a hand.

Gandalf sputtered, coughing on some smoke from his pipe. "Da?!"

"Of course, he is my father after all," the younger man replied, grinning over at Gandalf.

"Excuse me. I don't think I have introduced my son," Beorn started. "Hadrian, meet Gandalf."

Harry stared at Gandalf then turned back to glare at Beorn. "It's Harry, Da. You always use my longer name."

Beorn rolled his eyes.

Bilbo watched as some of the dwarves stared at Harry with new respect.

Harry stared at Gandalf. "Nice to meet you."

Bilbo watched as some of the dwarves stared at Harry with new respect.

"I also would not go through that forest willy-nilly," Harry commented, bringing them back to the subject at hand. "It has grown dark and ill with sickness as both me and my father have noticed. That much we have sensed."

"Not to mention the Wood Elves," Beorn added.

"Thranduil..." Thorin grumbled. "I would not go into their so called palace on this journey if we could help it."

Bilbo watched as Beorn and Harry exchanged glances then turned to look at Thorin.

"No matter. You will stay here as guests for the day. We will discuss the matter between ourselves tonight," Beorn ordered, pulling a bowl out of one of the cabinets and putting some stew in it.

"We-" Thorin began to say.

Bilbo took that moment to elbow the dwarf king in the side, being careful not to hit somewhere he had seen the warg's teeth bite into.

He heard Thorin grunt and then turn to face Bilbo.

"You are still injured," Bilbo grumbled. "Appreciate this break for what it is."

Thorin sighed. "Very well. We shall stay here for another night."

* * *

Harry glanced around the table that the dwarves were sitting at, studying them. They seemed weary and tired from the last couple of nights that they had weathered. He had smelled the orcs and wargs that were chasing after the dwarves but they had kept their distance. Beorn turned to exchange a significant look then walked a couple of feet away from the wizard and the dwarves.

Harry sighed but followed anyway, feeling Gandalf's gaze follow him.

"What is it?" Harry asked, looking at his father and lifting an eyebrow.

"Stay and look after the dwarves," Beorn rumbled. "I need to look at one of the horses."

Harry groaned, glancing up and over to the dwarves and the hobbit. "Da, they aren't that bad. I know you dislike dwarves but this may give us an opportunity."

"Opportunity?"

"Yes. Or at least for me to investigate the Mirkwood," Harry replied steadily. "The magic that encircles the forest should be examined and who better to do that than me?"

Beorn sighed. "I know that Eruand Oromë visited me when you were born to explain but that doesn't mean I'm letting you go into harm's way. We don't even know how the elves will take to you."

Harry sighed. "It's been three hundred years since I was born to Asa and you. It's been 50 years since we escaped from Azog, whom I recognized last night, for your information. I can take care of myself being both a wizard and skin-changer."

"I recognized Azog too," Beorn grumbled deeply then sighed. "If you are to go, be careful. The orcs might still have the poison that they used to control us and your sister."

Harry nodded. "I would be careful. I do not want to repeat that experience."

"Okay. Go, guide the dwarves through the forest."

Harry nodded his head gratefully then strode over to open the chest that he had brought out last night.

"Harry..."

Harry turned around to glance at his father.

Beorn frowned, turned to look at the dwarves and hobbit then back to Harry. "You may want to follow them further."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Further? As in..."

"Aye. To Erebor," Beorn replied. "I'll plan on following you eventually."

Harry nodded then turned to fetch the armor that he rarely used and his weapons.


	2. Chapter 2

Harry watched as the dwarves all seemingly relaxed, pulling out various things from their packs and some starting to sharpen their swords and axes. It had been a long time since he himself had really relaxed and the reappearance of Azog had recharged him and his father, if he had seen correctly. In fact, Beorn had probably said yes so that they could take revenge, not just to guide the dwarves through the forest.

The orc had kept their whole family prisoner, tortured them and made them fight each other for fun. Despite the fact that both he and his sister used to be wizards in a previous life, Azog had come by a drug, or a poison, that could control them. It dampened their magic and their shape-shifting and their strength, making them weak and pliant for the bastard's purposes.

Harry, Beorn and Hermione had made it out alive but severely injured and vulnerable. The rest of their family had gotten slaughtered after one of them tried to escape. Though what they had gone through had made Harry's fur coat change color out of pure fear and trauma. His coat used to be pure black, just like Hermione's was. Now he had white strands throughout his hair and when he changed, his coat was pure white.

After they had escaped, the three of them had split up. Hermionehad been too fearful to live near the forest and Dol Goldur and the orcs, so she had gone to live in Lake-town. Harry and their father had come back to live in the Anduin valley to keep an eye on the goblin caves.

And now, the dwarves finally gave Harry a reason to go hunt. His father had again and again said that it was too dangerous, magic be damned. But now... they could finally give chase.

He was brought out of his thoughts when he heard booted feet coming closer to the steps he was sitting on. The three younger dwarves were staring at him with no little fascination. The older looking blond dwarf was looking at the darker haired one with annoyed fondness.

"May I help you, young ones?" Harry asked, looking them over. Of course, it was the younger ones that came over to him; he had caught a few of the looks that the older dwarves had given him. They thought him unnatural. He didn't much care about any of the looks that they gave him, he was well used to it. Though, this time at least, they couldn't stare at his scar; he had not been born with it.

"'Young'?" the darker haired one repeated, his eyes widening. "We're not young."

"Aren't you young?" the third dwarf questioned, sounding very shy and glancing back at the older dwarves every other minute.

Harry raised an eyebrow. "If you consider 400 years old young then yes, I'm young."

"You're 400 years old?!" The darker haired one sputtered, staring at him in askance. The other two were staring at him with wide eyes.

Harry chuckled. He had added in the years he had spent as a regular human in England. He hadn't lost his mischievousness when he had been reborn.

"Are you really 400 years old?" Gandalf asked as he strode over to sit down on a chair across from Harry. "Though I know for sure that Beorn is younger."

Harry gave a considering noise. "Maybe."

Gandalf raised an eyebrow at him, drawing a pipe out of his robes.

"It's certainly none of your business how old I am," Harry said, frowning, feeling some magic float toward him. "And certainly not business that you need to use magic to find out."

Gandalf spluttered, choking on some of his pipe smoke. "How..."

"It's a talent," Harry replied nonchalantly, standing up and going to see to cleaning his weapon.

He padded over to his room, dodging some of the dwarves that were in his way, and grabbed his yew bow and broadsword off the pegs that he hung them on.

"What kind of a bow is that?" one of the younger dwarves asked, staring at the strange, black bow in Harry's hands. Harry had noticed that this one had a quiver that was empty but the dwarf had managed to keep his bow, even through the goblin tunnels.

Harry stared at the dwarf, raising an eyebrow. "What is your name?"

"Kíli, at your service and this one is my brother, Fíli. That's Ori."

Harry watched as Kíli pointed to the blond haired dwarf then at the other younger dwarf. Fíli nodded at Harry, not quite comfortable in Harry's presence as Kíli was.

"Kíli, tis a good name, I suppose," Harry said then glanced down at his bow. "My weapon is made out of yew wood."

Kíli stared down at the bow then glanced back up at him. "Yew? I've never heard of a bow being made from that kind of wood before."

"And nor will you, I should think," Harry commented. "It's what orcs use for their bows."

The three dwarves blanched. Harry could see that a couple of the other dwarves had stopped in their tracks and turned to stare at him.

"Do you mean to say..." Kíli trailed off, staring at Harry in no little awe.

"Yes, I stole one of their bows," Harry replied steadily, grinning a little. "I believe it was just a little of what was owed to me and my family."

"Owed?"

Harry turned to glance up at the dwarf who was sitting by Thorin Oakenshield.

"They took my family captive," Harry remarked.

"They took your family captive?" Fíli asked. "But, I should think your people are strong enough..."

Harry turned away for a second then returned his gaze to the dwarves who were staring at him.

"Orcs have their ways," Harry said with a grimace. "Azog had his hand in their methods."

* * *

Harry startled awake when he heard a loud yelp. He got out of his bed, stroked the fur of his dog Theo, and padded out to the main room. His eyes quickly adjusted to the dark and spotted the hobbit who had fallen while making his way back from the bathroom. He was about to go make sure Bilbo was okay but his yelp seemed to awaken Thorin, who was immediately up and walking over to the hobbit. The other dwarves kept on sleeping, most of them snoring away

He yawned, watched for a second more and decided he was intruding on a private scene when Thorin pulled Bilbo into his arms. Harry turned around and was halfway through his doorway when he heard a rough call.

"Harryander?"

He turned back around and saw that Thorin had turned around, now holding a limp Bilbo in his arms. Harry strode over, walking over any dwarves, and leaned down to look at the two.

"What is it?" Harry asked, studying the dwarf then glanced into his eyes. They were full of worry for the little hobbit and Harry could see that Thorin was tired too. He suspected that if it had not been in the middle of the night and instead during the day, he wouldn't have been able to see the worry so clearly.

"Bilbo is hurt," Thorin murmured. "And I do not want to wake up my company; they need their rest."

Harry raised an eyebrow and glanced down at Bilbo, taking a big breath. "Broken bone or something else?"

Thorin stared down at Bilbo then looked up at Harry. "His foot was burned last night."

"Last night? How... Did he not notice it until now?" Harry enquired, standing up. "Follow me. I've got something for burns in my bedroom."

"He may have noticed it," Thorin muttered, lifting Bilbo into his arms and following Harry.

"And you didn't tend to it?" Harry asked, pushing his door open. Theo was still asleep on his bed and Harry rolled his eyes. The dog was a late sleeper, often not waking up until late morning.

"If he noticed it, he did not make us aware of it," Thorin defended.

"Alright. Just put him on the bed; let me go through my things."

"The dog..."

"Theo won't bite," Harry remarked, going over to his closet. "He's used to bigger creatures. He may look like a wolf but he's a big softie when it comes to people."

Harry scanned the drawers, sniffing until he found the one he was looking for and pulled out the burn paste. After his family had escaped from the orcs, he and Hermione had put together potions and pastes for a kit for each of them to have. They had also worked together on an antidote for the poison that Azog had used, just in case.

Harry then turned and went over to the bed, summoning a chair to sit in. Thorin had gone to sit on the other side of the bed, holding Bilbo's right hand. When Harry performed that bit of magic though, Thorin's eyes widened then narrowed. Theo had made room and had propped his head on his paws, watching.

"Which foot is it?" Harry questioned, placing the container in his lap and opening it.

"It's my right foot."

Harry looked up and saw that Bilbo had woken.

"Hello, little one," Harry murmured.

Bilbo's eyes widened and he glanced over at Thorin who smiled reassuringly at him. Bilbo then turned to look up at Harry.

"I'm in your bed," Bilbo commented.

Harry chuckled quietly and nodded. "Yes. But you can have it for the night. Let me just tend your foot then I'll be out of your way."

"But... it's your bed," Bilbo grumbled.

"Sometimes it is and sometimes it isn't," Harry remarked, casting a warming charm on the paste. "May I?"

He held out a hand to place it over Bilbo's foot.

"I guess so," Bilbo said, nodding slowly.

Harry gently, not letting any of his strength through, picked up Bilbo's foot and studied it. The burn was bright red still and there were blisters dotted on the injury.

"How exactly did you come by this injury?" Harry asked, as he silently cast a cleaning charm on the wound.

"That is what I want to know," Thorin spoke, with a meaningful glance at Bilbo. "I didn't feel any injuries when... on the Carrock."

"You didn't exactly feel my feet," Bilbo murmured, blushing a little.

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Your company was at the Carrock?"

Bilbo looked between the two and seemed to settle on Thorin. "I guess I must have accidentally stepped on a flame."

Harry dipped his fingers in the burn paste and looked at the injury again. It was now all clean so he began to spread the paste on the burn. Bilbo started to squirm a little, giggling. Thorin looked at him worriedly then at Harry with a frown.

"This paste does not hurt," Harry commented.

"Oh, it tickles. That's all," Bilbo said. "My feet are rather ticklish, I should have mentioned that."

"Ticklish indeed," Thorin remarked, staring at Bilbo.

"Okay, all done here," Harry said, drawing his fingers away and putting the lid on the paste. He stood up and put it away in his pack for tomorrow. "You two can have the bed, if you like. I'm going on a run."

"Running? This..." Bilbo trailed off.

"This early in the morning?" Harry said, nodding. "My father and I usually oversee the leagues around our home at this time. Make sure there's no orcs around."

"On foot?" Bilbo questioned as they both watched him.

"In a manner of speaking," Harry replied with a grin as he strode over to the door. "Oh, and I'm coming with you."

"Coming with us?" Thorin repeated, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes. I have business in the forest and if I can guide your company through at the same time..." Harry responded.

"Gandalf will be coming with us," Bilbo remarked. "We don't need you too."

"Well, I'll be going regardless," Harry said then strode through the door.


	3. Chapter 3

Harry stood outside their home, with Belle standing patiently at his side. The dwarves were making sure that they had everything they needed and were packing. Gandalf was already on the horse he was borrowing, Gage, and was at the edge of the property. Harry had already packed for the trip and had given Kíli some new arrows that he had magically shortened to the right length. He glanced at Belle then padded over to where Beorn was standing in the doorway of their home.

"Avoid Azog as best you can," Beorn grumbled, staring at him. "And say hi to your sister for me once you reach Lake-town."

"I will," Harry replied. "Take care of yourself, Da."

Beorn nodded then went back inside. Harry grinned a little then went to mount his horse. It had been odd remembering his past life as Harry Potter at the age of 15 but he had enjoyed the chance to have a childhood again. Especially since his sister was Hermione Granger, now called Hermione; it was fun having her as a sibling this time around.

As he strode back to Belle, he noticed one of the dwarves pocket something. Harry's magic flared at whatever the dwarf had taken. The dwarf had a funny head of hair that was shaped like... almost like a star. Harry held out his hand, palm up. The dwarf looked up at him and smiled innocently.

"I believe you have something of mine, dwarf," Harry remarked, barely holding back a growl.

"Nori! What did you take?"

Harry watched as another dwarf walked up, this one looked similar to the one that had stolen. Thorin and Bilbo both walked up to stare at the dwarf called Nori. Thorin had an unamused frown on his face. Bilbo was leaning on Thorin slightly, as his foot was still healing.

"Nori, give whatever you took back to the man," the dwarf who had said that both Beorn and Harry were unnatural last night scolded.

"I can smell it," Harry said idly.

"But it's just a piece of wood!" Nori said, frowning.

"We do not want to upset our host," Thorin broke in, glaring at Nori. "Give whatever you took back."

Nori reluctantly reached into his pocket and pulled out what he had taken, placing it on Harry's palm.

"Thank you," Harry said, pocketing his old wand then strode off to mount Belle. His holly wand was precious to him; he usually just used the elder wand now but he had kept his old wand for sentimental purposes. He knew he shouldn't have left the room to his door open in the morning.

* * *

Harry fell into Belle's rhythms, knowing she would carry him well. All of the animals that were living with them were stronger, faster and more intelligent than normal animals; being around skin-changers for many years could do that to the animals of Arda. Plus, some of them were skin-changers themselves.

He watched as the dwarves rode on their own horses, clearly not used to riding horses that were bigger than them. But they did okay and the horses adjusted their gaits accordingly.

Harry turned in the saddle when they all heard a loud growling. He smiled when he saw his father gallop onto the small hill near their home and roar. They weren't too far away so Harry waved briefly then turned back in the saddle.

* * *

When they reached Mirkwood, Harry stiffened and Belle stilled, slowing to a trot then to a walk.

"Something is very wrong here," Harry murmured, eyes scanning the dark forest. It was infested with dark magic, so much so that he wasn't entirely sure that he wanted to continue on. "Gandalf, when were you last here?"

The wizard rode up to stop alongside Harry and turned to look at him while the dwarves stopped their own horses and dismounted.

"I have not been here for a long while," Gandalf replied. "Do you sense something?"

"Yes, I do," Harry answered, turning to glance at Thorin and the others. He scanned the group then dismounted and padded over to the edge of the forest, looking deeper and extending his magic and other senses. "Dark magic, maybe akin to..."

Gandalf looked at him warily. "Something like what?"

Harry shook his head. "Nothing. We should get going."

Harry dismounted, pulled his packs off and shouldered them.

"I have wizarding business elsewhere," Gandalf remarked. "Would you guide Thorin's company through the forest?"

"I promised my father that I would," Harry said. "And I told Thorin that I would. I tend to not go back on promises to dwarves who will be king one day."

Gandalf raised an eyebrow. "You did?"

Harry nodded distractedly while releasing Belle. He stroked her face fondly and she nuzzled into him then took off in the other direction, back home.

"Ah, then I won't worry too much," Gandalf said then turned to the dwarves.

* * *

The third night into the forest, Kíli was woken up by a loud whuffling noise. He blinked an eye open and was about to reach for his bow when he remembered who they were traveling with. But the sight that met him still scared him.

The big white bear that had chased them on the way to Beorn's home was standing at the edge of their camp. The bear was definitely bigger than the dwarves, maybe a good three feet taller than Kíli himself. He could see a few clumps of fur on the bear's coat that were tinged with red.

"Fíli!"

"Kíli, go back to sleep," Fíli groaned, turning in his bedroll to look at Kíli.

"But Fíli... look."

Kíli waited for his brother to turn and look where Kíli was pointing. Fíli gave a sharp inhale and stared.

"You think that's really Harry?"

"It's not attacking us," Kíli replied. "It kind of looks like it's standing guard."

"But what's different between now and when he was chasing us a few days ago?" Fíli asked, turning to look at Kíli.

"How should I know?" Kíli exclaimed then winced at the muttered curses from their uncle. Thorin and Bilbo were sleeping just a few feet away and they were both glaring at the two younger dwarves.

"Kíli, Fíli, go to sleep! Please!"

"Yes, uncles," Fíli replied then they both shuffled closer together. Kíli glanced at his brother and started to snicker, hearing Bilbo start to mutter something about rude nephews.

"Maybe, he knows us now?" Kíli wondered out loud, after there was no other noise from either Thorin or Bilbo.

Fíli gave a noise of consideration. "That could be it."

"Or maybe he knows our scent and thinks that he couldn't eat us?" Kíli teased. "We're definitely too sweet to eat, I think."

_Shouldn't you two be asleep?_

Kíli jumped, seeing Fíli jump in place a little more. "What was that?"

Kíli turned to look behind Fíli and felt his eyes widen. The bear had come to stand behind Fíli and was staring down at them, a little scolding in his green eyes.

_Go to sleep. You'll need your energy for tomorrow._

Kíli glanced at his brother who looked as startled as he himself felt. They watched as the bear turned around and took off into the forest, seemingly leaving the group behind.

* * *

Halfway through the forest, Harry heard the tell-tale skittering of...

"Spiders."

The dwarf behind him stiffened, Bofur, if Harry remembered correctly. The dwarf was at least the one with the hat, so Harry probably had the name right.

"I hate spiders," the dwarf said then turned to sound the alarm. Everyone else pulled their weapons and formed a circle around Bilbo and the younger ones. Kili nocked his bow and released the arrow right into a spider that had come crawling down a string.

"I agree with that emotion," Harry grumbled. "My sister hates them too."

"You have a sister?" Bilbo asked as more spiders came and everything dissolved into chaos. The sound of swords hitting spider flesh grew and the weird squeals of the spiders were rather satisfying.

Harry drew his sword and plunged it into a spider who had attempted to sneak up on him. "Aye, I have a sister."

Harry killed a few more spiders, taking care to not hit a dwarf with his sword. The fight didn't last too long, as the more spiders they killed, the more spiders began to think that they had chosen the wrong party to ambush. One or two spiders didn't even come close to Harry, probably scared of the unknown predatory scent that he had.

The whole fight ended with the sounding of horns. Harry glanced down at the dwarves, scanning each one of them only to realize it had not been them. No one had a horn to their lips. He was busy scanning the dwarves when he realized Bilbo was missing. His eyes widened and lifted his nose to take a deep breath, inhaling all of the scents around them. And covered his mouth to hide his grin; Bilbo was just waiting behind the trees but all Harry could sense of him was his scent. The hobbit was... invisible.

Thorin glanced up at him, raising an eyebrow. "That sounded like an elven horn."

Harry sighed and nodded. "You would be correct in your assumption. That was elven."

Harry heard Thorin mutter something in khuzdul then yell orders to the others. Harry sheathed his blade and went to stand alongside Thorin, glancing into the forest in front of them. He could smell the elves but he couldn't see them, the forest was too dark for that.

The elves appeared in front of them like they had been there the whole time. Harry growled low in his throat when all of them pointed their nocked bows at them.

"We are not here to kill any of you," Harry growled out, crossing his arms. "Your weapons are not needed here."

The elf in the lead stared at him warily, narrowing his eyes. "Who are you?"

"I am not going to tell you," Harry remarked.

The elf continued to stare at him and then turned to glare down at the dwarves, minutely inclining his head toward Harry.

"Dwarves. Why are you in our forest?"

* * *

Harry just barely allowed the elves to tie his hands together. He didn't take too well to being tied up and almost shifted one of his hands into a paw to claw the rope to pieces, elvish rope be damned. But he was a little curious about these woodland elves; he hadn't met any of the elves that lived in Arda before. Perhaps this meeting could be interesting.


	4. Chapter 4

Harry followed the dwarves as they were led deeper and deeper into the Elvenking's palace. He assumed they were being led into the dungeons as it made sense but he wasn't sure. A few elves had drawn Thorin off to probably talk to the king but other than that, no one paid him any attention. Which was a little odd; he would have thought that they would have been bewildered by a seemingly mortal man traveling with dwarves. Especially these dwarves.

He glanced up to where the elves were leading the dwarrows in the front and... yes. They were being led to the dungeons, as he could see Kíli being pushed into a cell. Harry stared and sighed, letting out a low growl then obligingly went into one himself. The guards that were behind him started at the growl and exchanged glances.

* * *

"I could have weapons underneath my trousers," Kíli was saying.

Harry rolled his eyes. The dwarf was talking with one of the elven maidens, Tauriel, if he had heard correctly. The two were rather smitten, if Harry wasn't mistaken. Thorin had been delivered back to a cell a few hours ago before night had fallen. He could hear muttering coming from the other cells and most of it was worried muttering but then he could hear booted footsteps coming from the top of the cells.

"We're here for the human. Bring him here."

Harry raised an eyebrow as the guards came to open his cell, tied his wrists together again then led him up. So they weren't aware of the fact that he wasn't human... or for that matter, he wasn't mortal either.

"The king wants to see me, huh?"

The guards didn't reply, just steered him in the direction that they wanted him to go. Harry followed them up the stairs and back through the palace and right into the throne room. There were vines going all over the place, some thorns spaced throughout the plants. There was a big path over a big... abyss that led to the throne. Harry was a little dismayed by the fact that the path had no railings at all; he supposed that elves had great balance.

"My guards tell me you were traveling with Thorin Oakenshield," Thranduil remarked as Harry was forced to stop four or five feet before him. "Why would a mere human like yourself be traveling with dwarves?"

Harry raised an eyebrow. "You are not my king nor do I feel the need to explain myself to you."

Thranduil stared at him, giving him a slow glance up and down. "You intrigue me still. Thorin did not say anything about you when I questioned him."

"Well, that could be because I'm not officially part of their company," Harry commented, feeling the rope that was around his wrists. It was elvish rope obviously but around him, it didn't stand a chance of holding him. But... the Elvenking fascinated him somehow. The elf was dressed in a long silvery robe and was beautiful. Long silvery hair and cool blue eyes that had probably seen a lot. A haunted gaze, if Harry wasn't mistaken, that had seen death one too many times.

"You are not part of Thorin's company?" Thranduil asked, leaning forward on his throne.

"Nope. And what is it between you two, hmm? Just saying 'Thorin' isn't respectful, you know?" Harry mused.

Thranduil narrowed his eyes. "We elves have a long history with the dwarves. You should know that."

Harry nodded absentmindedly. "I suppose so. However, I've mainly kept to living with my father and tending to the land and animals that live there."

"Who is your father then?" Thranduil inquired. "Surely a human father would disapprove of his son joining dwarves?"

Harry snorted. "My father... isn't exactly human."

Thranduil raised an eyebrow. "Is your father one of my kin?"

"Certainly not," Harry remarked, shaking his head. "Have you ventured out of your forest at all in the last hundred years?"

"Father, your guests are awaiting you in the feasting hall."

Harry turned to look at the elf who had snuck up on him and watched him walk up to the king. The elf was clearly related to King Thranduil and was obviously younger by a few... Actually Harry didn't know how to gage how old elves were.

Thranduil and the younger elf spoke in Elvish for a minute or two. The younger briefly stopped and turned to look at Harry then returned to speaking with Thranduil, a little harried.

"Letting..."

"Iônin, Legolas, I have my reasons," Thranduil stated. "Go take the special mead to your warriors."

Harry raised an eyebrow as the younger elf left. "If I'm interrupting something, I can just go back to my cell. Peacefully, might I add."

"You are not," Thranduil replied with a frown. "I would like to invite you to the feast."

"The Feast? Is this a celebration of a kind?" Harry asked. "Because I would like to just say for the record that I'm not suited for this kind of thing. Don't get me wrong, I can eat a lot of food. But celebrations with a lot of elves and people? Not my thing."

"Why do you say that?"

Harry stared at the king, studying for a minute. "It makes me nervous. Suffice to say, I prefer living with my father."

"Is your father a dwarf?" Thranduil asked, standing up.

Harry's eyes widened. "I'm as tall as you, maybe a little taller and you think... No. I'm not related to any dwarf or elf."

"Not human, not a dwarf, nor an elf," Thranduil mused, walking toward him gracefully and stopping right in front of him. "I shall take much pleasure from figuring you out during the feast."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "If you're insisting on this, then fine. I'll go. If only you would let the dwarves go after the feast."

"We shall see about that."

* * *

Harry took another bite of salad as he watched the elves around him. He was sitting at a table in the corner with two elven guards flanking him. Many had stared at him when he had first came in after the king then continued to eat or drink. The staring had at first unnerved him but then he shrugged it off; he had had a lot more negative staring in his first life. He sighed and turned to look at the Elvenking, who had taken to staring at him too. But he was a lot more subtle than the others.

There was a group of elves playing instruments in one of the corners and most of the elves were paying attention to them now. Harry heard some even start to sing, if a bit drunkenly. He didn't really understand the lyrics of the songs since they were mostly in Elvish but the general undertone was joyful and happy. The trees and plant life above them were even sparkling, as if they were all sentient.

Harry had one last bite of his food then cast a notice-me-not charm on himself, stood up and quietly walked out. He strode out of the ballroom or feast hall and followed his nose back down to the dungeons, wherein he ran into a hobbit.

Harry stopped still and glanced down, still not seeing anything. But he could certainly smell what was probably a hobbit. Harry stilled at the dark feeling coming from Bilbo though. It felt like... like Bilbo was carrying a horcrux.

"...We're probably stuck down here forever," Ori was saying.

"We'll never make it to Erebor," Kíli groaned out.

Bilbo removed whatever was making him invisible and glanced right up at Harry. "Help me get the dwarves out?"

"You can see me?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow.

Harry watched as Bilbo started to walk again, going right down to Thorin's cell and opening it.

"Not in here you're not," Bilbo remarked.

"Bilbo!"

"Bilbo!"

"Burglar," Thorin murmured, walking out and pulling Bilbo into a firm hug.

"It's our Bilbo!"

Harry groaned quietly.

"Be quiet! You'll wake the guards!" Bilbo whisper shouted out, after pulling away from Thorin.

Harry went over to Kíli and Fíli's cell and cast the spell to unlock the door and pulled it open.

"Bilbo, do you have a plan?" Balin asked quietly as Harry and Bilbo worked together to open all the cells.

"Yeah, this way," Bilbo said, gesturing to a door that Harry hadn't seen yet.

Harry made sure all the dwarves were out and then followed them, taking the last spot in line. They all followed Bilbo right to a group of big barrels and then stopped. The dwarves all stared at Bilbo with quizzical frowns.

"What now?"

"Get in the barrels," Bilbo muttered, pointing at the barrels.

"Get in them? Why?"

"But they're barrels!"

Bilbo turned to stare at Thorin, with a small frown and a pointed stare. Thorin exchanged the look then glared at everyone. "Do as he says."

The dwarves hurried to fit in the barrels, one to each container.

Harry strode to a big rectangular shape in the wooden floor and stared down at it, slowly shaking his head. "Uh, Bilbo, if you're thinking what I'm thinking, I'm going to find another way out."

All the dwarves and Bilbo looked up at him.

"Go on without me," Harry started, backing up and walking over back to the door. "I hear the guards sounding the alarm."

Bilbo, Thorin, Fíli and Kíli all stared at him, Bilbo with a concerned frown on his face. The others stared at him in alarm, muttering to each other.

"Go! Bilbo, you get in one. I'll pull the lever," Harry said, gesturing to the barrels. He watched Bilbo scramble into the last one, used some magic to pull the lever and stared as the floor underneath the barrels dropped out. As soon as the barrels were all out and into the river, he cast a notice-me-not charm on himself then padded back up to the throne room and through the palace. He saw the prince and the red-haired elf running through the palace with guards following them, glancing around as they went. No one saw him as he sprinted through the gates and turned in the direction of the river.


	5. Chapter 5

Harry was just about to leave the elven palace when he realized that he had no weaponry on him. The elves had taken all of their weapons and since they were not 'officially' releasing them, their weapons were still down in the dungeons. He huffed out a sigh and turned around, making sure his spell was still working. No one was looking at him or in his immediate direction so he started to run, taking the route that they had when they had been escorted from.

He ran past multiple elves on his way and none of them saw him. As soon as he made it to the dungeons, he slowed, making sure to look in every hallway for their weapons. And just as he was turning a corner, he saw a rack of weapons that certainly weren't elvish looking. Though the only elvish weapon that belonged to a dwarf was Orcrist and he plucked it from the rack it was hanging from. He stowed the other weapons in his endless bag and strapped his own sword, bow and quiver on him then ran out.

On the way out, he noticed elves going down into what seemed to be the armory and coming back out armed. As he padded around the corner, he almost ran into squads of elven soldiers all grouped together in the large entry way. Harry paused in the corner to listen, his eyes widening. It seemed that Mirkwood was under attack from large amounts of orcs and...

"Goblins?"

A few elves in front of him started and turned to glance in his direction.

Harry stiffened and started to run again, bypassing many elves. He could see King Thranduil in the distance up front, arming himself. The king's son was there too, beside him. Harry didn't see the red haired elf though, maybe she had gone after Kíli.

Just as he was about to use a little magic to open the big door slightly, the hair on the back of his neck stood up. He glanced behind him and up to King Thranduil, who was gazing at him. Not the area that he was in. Directly into his face.

Harry raised an eyebrow, saw Thranduil do the same. Thranduil nodded and started to martial his troops after a minute. Harry nodded back and pulled out the elder wand and murmured the incantation, watched the giant door open just enough for him to exit. Only to hear drums and the screams of orcs and the rough, loud voices of trolls. There were elves already outside, bows out and arrows nocked.

Harry glanced at them then back to the palace and turned to look at the river where the dwarves had fled. Who to help? His feet unconsciously took him over toward the river and he sighed. He had promised Thorin and company that he would help them get through the forest. Besides, he figured that the elves could hold them off. Hopefully.

* * *

He took off running down the river, notice-me-not charm taken off. The dwarves already had a good head start on him and Aüle forbid they get into trouble they couldn't get out off. He could distantly hear shouts and yells and some screams in the black speech of the orcs.

Harry sped up, able to see a few barrels with dwarves in them around the next corner. There were orcs running along the river bank, shooting arrows at the dwarves. However, their arrows never hit their targets. Harry bared his teeth, smiling toothily, and pulled out his sword, beheading the closet orc. The orcs closest squealed, turning to face the new threat.

If Harry had been in his other form, he would have roared. That likely would have scared the lot of them, probably even scare the dwarves. Harry snorted and continued, slicing at each orc that came too close. The dwarves were speeding down the river, attempting to and succeeding at killing the orcs that came their way even though they were in the river.

Harry could see a river lock, one made out of stone to control the river. It probably wasn't made for keeping people from heading down the river to Lake-town. There were elves, standing guard above it, shooting at the orcs. They were felled quickly, not having expected any orcs, let alone dwarves.

Harry stayed in place, killing any orcs around him. The red-haired elf was not too far away if his senses were correct. She was beautiful, twirling and killing any orc that dared get too close with her knives and her bow.

* * *

"Kíli!"

Harry turned at the scream and raced down toward where the river lock was. The gate that was controlling what went down the river had been closed and apparently Kíli had taken it upon himself to go unlock it. Only to get shot with an arrow in his thigh upon jumping out of his barrel.

Harry made it to the younger dwarf's location, killed the orc that was advancing on Kíli and scooped the dwarf up.

Kíli glanced up at him with bleary eyes. His skin had gone pale alarmingly fast for just an arrow wound. Harry watched as Kíli passed out, drooping against his chest.

"Kíli!"

"He's okay. I have him. It's only an arrow wound," Harry called out, walking over and pulling the lever that would open up the river to the dwarves. He could see Fíli and Thorin staring up at him, with wide, concerned eyes. "Go. I'm following."

* * *

Harry followed the dwarves as they went down the river, carrying Kíli in his arms. He could still hear the war drums back in Mirkwood, near the palace and he winced. His mind and direction were made up. Hopefully, the elves would either fight them off or they would... Maybe his father would be able to help them as he did know that Beorn was going to eventually follow him. He just didn't know **when** his dad would follow him. He sighed and glanced down at the dwarf in his arms. His nose could smell the distinct scent of poison and he recoiled at the memories that brought him.

They would need to find a good place to stop so he could tend the younger one's wound. The arrow still had not been taken out and bandaged which was bad. Harry was pretty good with stitching and tending to wounds but he knew that his sister was better. Hermione had kept her knowledge of potions and spells for healing in this world and both of them had learned how to use herbs too.

* * *

Harry slowed down as they reached the river bank, lowered Kíli onto the ground and helped reel in the barrels. The dwarves were mostly all wet, having been splashed and a few of them were rolled about. Bilbo was all wet, having been knocked out of his barrel and pulled in to hang on Thorin's. Harry pulled out a blanket from his bag and kneeled down next to the hobbit, casting a spell to suck all the water from him.

"Excuse me," Bilbo grumbled out, shaking his head to get water out from his ears. "What was that?"

"I just got all the water from you," Harry muttered. "Feel better?"

"Oh, yes," Bilbo said, sighing in relief. "I can feel that now. Thanks. We hobbits don't like swimming. Much less going down a river in just a barrel."

Harry nodded and handed the blanket to him before standing up. He strode over to kneel in front of Kíli. Fíli was sitting right next to his brother, looking him over.

"It was just an arrow wound," Kíli retorted. "Nothing special."

"Kíli, that wasn't just an arrow wound. You've gone pale," Fíli complained, glancing to Harry. "What do you make of his wound?"

Harry pulled out some bandages from his bag and pulled out the weapons that he had brought back. "Here. Do you want to bandage his wound or shall I?"

"I can do it on my own," Kíli stated, glaring at them both.

"Those are our weapons! Where'd you get them?" Dwalin exclaimed, walking over and picking up both of his axes.

"I grabbed them on the way out of the palace," Harry commented then pulled out Orcrist, murmured a cleaning charm. He stood up and went around a few rocks to stop in front of Thorin, who looked up at him. Balin was standing right next to Thorin, talking about potential routes around the lake. Thorin's eyes widened when he saw what was in Harry's arms. "I believe this belongs to you."

"Thank you," Thorin replied, taking the sword when Harry handed it to him.

"Your welcome," Harry murmured, going over to sit before Kíli again.

"It's poisoned."

Fíli and Kíli both turned to stare at him, eyes wide. Fíli looked at him then glanced at his brother's wound, peeling the clothing back.

"Kíli, I think he's right," Fíli said.

Harry watched them bicker while pulling out Fíli's weapons and handing them to him. Fíli grinned gratefully at him and strapped them to his back. Harry also took out Kíli's bow and quiver and set them down before the two dwarves.

"What if they leave me behind?" Kíli hissed. "I don't want to be left behind, Fíli!"

"We need to be leaving," Thorin called out. "We're going around the lake."

"Around? It'll take at least another day if we do that," Harry returned, standing up. "You said Durin's Day is not too far ahead. We can't waste a day wandering around this lake when I have family in Lake-town that will help us."

"Family?" Bilbo asked, standing up and going over to Thorin, who wrapped an arm around the hobbit.

"My sister lives in Lake-town," Harry replied. "We can rest a day then go on to the mountain from there. It would be easier than traveling a few leagues out of our way."

"Alright. How are we suppose to travel across the lake then?" Dwalin asked.

Harry was about to answer when the wind changed. He took a sniff and left a hand on his sword hilt when a man came around the larger rock behind them. The stranger had a long bow in his hands and the minute that he saw them, he stopped and raised it, arrow already nocked.

Harry stared and edged in front of the dwarves. "Who are you?"

The voices behind Harry stopped and he heard the drawing of steel. The man started at the sounds and took a step backward.

"Who are you?" Dwalin repeated, axe at the ready.

"Who are you?" the guy asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Just a group of merchants," Balin said, walking over to stand in front of the group.

Harry relaxed his hands, made sure he wasn't mostly threatening looking. In the few times he had gone into a city full of men, most of the people had thought he was menacing in appearance.

"Strangers aren't allowed in Lake-town," the man said, lowering his bow. "Least of all armed strangers."

"We would request passage on your barge," Balin said, pulling out a drawstring back full of coins.

The man stared at them, eyes skimming the dwarves. Harry could see that his gaze stopped on Thorin for a full minute then went to him, staring at his sword and bow.

"Very well."


	6. Chapter 6

The barge made its way through the icy river, breaking up lots of chunks of frozen water. It was cold but not cold enough for Harry, who was still in his light armor that he had put on when they had left the Carrock. It would take more weather than this force for Harry to find warmer clothes. As it was, Harry could see Bard shivering a little in his thin hide coat.

Harry slowly walked up to the human, turned toward him. "Is this a particularly bad autumn?"

Bard jumped a little, turning toward Harry with wide eyes. "I hadn't heard you come over here."

"I'm sorry. Habit," Harry said, looking him over.

"Yes, for Lake-town at least," Bard answered, taking a step back from him and studying him. "Why are you traveling with these dwarves? They'll bring ill tidings to Lake-town."

Harry grimaced and glanced over to where Thorin was. Both Bilbo and Thorin were standing at the front of the barge, looking over at the town in the distance. "I have a sister in Lake-town. I'm just visiting."

"Your sister lives alone?" Bard questioned, narrowing his eyes.

Harry snorted. "My sister can easily take care of herself. She's well... a force to be reckoned with."

"What's your sister's name?"

Harry turned to look down at Fíli, who had come to stand next to them. Kíli was staring at the long gone forest of the elves, like he was missing a certain someone. Harry too had been occasionally glancing behind them, as if his vision could see through the many trees to the Elven king. He wondered why the orcs had chosen to start a fight with the elves. He and his father hadn't ventured into the forest that often but he still thought that the elves would have kept to themselves. And thus, not really a threat to the orcs. But...

Harry stiffened, feeling the urge to let the bear take over and roar. Maybe Azog or one of his lieutenants saw him go into the home of the elves and wanted to steal him away again. That meant... He muttered curses under his breath and saw Bard and Fíli's eyes widen.

"...Harry?"

"I don't think we'll be able to count on the elves helping us if we need it," Harry finally replied after a minute of tense silence.

"We won't need any help from any elf," Thorin grumbled, peering over at them.

Harry sighed, hand going to the hilt of his sword then to his bow. "I hope you're right."

* * *

Bilbo watched as Bard guided the boat through the gate of Lake-town. The dwarves were staring at the town as they passed the guard station and as Harry had said a few minutes ago, the guards hadn't even noticed the dwarves. The skin walker had done something to make it appear like Bard was the only person on the barge. Bilbo wasn't entirely certain what the tall man had done but it was successful.

"We can't rely on Bard too much," Balin whispered as they passed a block of run down wooden homes. There were chunks of ice in the water and Bard had had to break a few big chunks up by using a sturdy pole. Otherwise Lake-town was not the town that the dwarves who had lived in Erebor before Smaug remembered. It was dark and gloomy, with most of the homes looking like they were about to break down. "Gloin says that we ran out of coins paying the bargeman."

"Weren't we going to go stay with Harry's sister?" Bilbo asked, looking around at the circle of dwarves. Harry was at the foot of the barge, staring back out toward where the forest was.

"The bargeman did say outsiders weren't welcome," Bofur commented, glancing at Bard before turning back to the circle.

"I say we steer clear of the Master," Nori said, shrugging when Dori narrowed his eyes at his brother. "I haven't stolen anything from him! I haven't even been to Lake-town!"

"Just because you haven't stolen anything from him yet, doesn't mean you won't."

"I'm just saying it because we'll want to avoid the guards," Nori explained.

"My sister will have room for all of us," Harry broke in, coming to stand behind them. "I think."

"You think?" Dwalin repeated, raising an eyebrow when he saw Kíli vehemently shake his head at Harry. The skin changer raised an eyebrow but said nothing, only turning his focus on Thorin.

"I know you guys have a deadline, to arrive at Erebor before a certain date," Harry said, running a hand through his hair. "It's tomorrow, not today. We can take a day to rest. Whether that's with Bard or not, I don't care. I'm going to go see my sister regardless."

* * *

Harry stepped outside of Bard's home and was about to close the door behind him when Fíli walked out.

"What are you doing?" Harry asked quietly, raising his voice only a little.

Fíli looked up at him, hand going to one of his many knives. "There's too much noise in there."

Harry glanced back into the house where the rest of the dwarves were resting and getting dry. He could hear coughing coming from Bilbo and he winced. Bard and his children were also walking around the house, trying to keep everyone from going outside.

"I suppose that's true," Harry remarked. "But you can't let anyone see you outside. I don't particularly want to draw attention to me or my sister. Her last letter..."

Fíli raised an eyebrow. "You never told me what your sister's name was."

"Are you suggesting that you want to come with me?" Harry guessed, noting a few guards walking past Bard's home. They were too far away to see either Harry or Fíli but he used a little magic to create a temporary moving ward around the two of them. It would move with them and hide them from prying eyes at the same time.

"Would your sister mind?" Fíli asked.

Harry sighed and shook his head. "No. It's only her so no. Come on then."

Harry led the way through Dale, dodging behind homes when guards came their way. "It'll be noisy in Erebor once it's reclaimed. Aren't you... the eldest brother?"

"Yes, I'm suppose to be the Crown Prince once the mountain is retaken. I know," Fíli remarked then sighed. "I just don't know if we'll be able to kill a dragon."

"Dragons aren't that bad," Harry commented as they turned another corner. He could feel Hermione's magic and they were still a block away and he could feel himself smiling. Though with his enhanced sense of smell, he probably could smell her, if the smells of the town weren't overpowering him.

Fíli stopped behind him, eyes wide. "You think dragon's aren't that bad?"

Harry snorted and stopped too. "I've met three of them... They're really cute when they're little."

Fíli continued to stare at him. "You're crazy."

Harry chuckled. "People have said worse about me."

* * *

"Harry!"

Hermione smiled widely as she saw Harry, opening the door for him. He grinned and startled as she pulled him into a hug. "It's good to see you too, sister."

"I've missed you," Hermione whispered, her magic flowing around her happily. "It's been lonely here without you."

"I missed you too," Harry murmured. "You should really come back to the home once and a while."

Hermione winced.

The sound of a throat clearing made her pull back and look next to Harry. There was a dwarf standing next to him. The dwarf had light brown hair, almost golden and Hermione could tell the dwarf had a lot of weapons hidden on him.

"Who is this?" Hermione asked.

"Oh. Hermione, this is Fíli, the nephew of-" Harry yelped as the dwarf elbowed him. Hermione watched as they exchanged looks then her brother narrowed his eyes but nodded. "Fíli, this is my sister, Hermione Granger."

"My lady, it is a pleasure to meet you," Fíli said tentatively.

Hermione stared down at him and smiled a little. "It's nice to meet you too, Fíli."

* * *

"Harry, do you have something to tell me?" Hermione asked as the two of them stepped into her home. Harry looked around the small home, noting the sparseness of it. It was in relatively good condition, compared to the other homes that they had passed, probably due to the amount of magic that he could sense. The home was also gloomy too, like the others. Harry also couldn't smell very much wild scent, like Hermione hadn't shifted recently.

"Uh, I've been traveling with dwarves for the past few weeks?" Harry tried as Hermione gestured for them to sit down in the few seats. Harry did, glancing over to Fíli and noting that the dwarf hadn't taken his eyes off of his sister yet.

Hermione frowned. "What did Dad say?"

"He said it was okay for me to go with them. Besides, we're both fully grown. I wanted to check out the forest too," Harry explained, thinking of Thranduil and his elves.

"So you are a skin changer too?" Fíli asked.

Hermione sighed. Harry narrowed his eyes at her expression, noting the little restless movements of her body. "Yes. I am. All of Beorn's children were skin-changers but... Harry, did you tell them?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah, they know the big details. Not so much the little details."

"Would it be too rude for me to ask what color bear you are?" Fíli questioned.

Hermione chuckled and ran a hand through her messy brown hair. Harry could see the black strands of hair through the brown, knowing what that meant. It had happened to Harry too, after they had been captured by Azog. A few months of being tortured and made to fight other orcs, being made to feel like one of those baited bear fights in old England except they were the bears.

"My fur is black," Hermione replied, lingering amusement in her tone. "Though I haven't..."

"You haven't shifted in a while, have you?" Harry asked quietly, worried now. "Hermione..."

She sighed. "Harry, you didn't see our mother and younger sister get killed. They..."

"You saw your family killed?" Fíli murmured, looking up at Hermione.

She turned to look at the dwarf, closing her eyes briefly. "Yes. They were... Harry, it was worse than the last battle before."

Harry flinched and moved to sit next to her. "I'm sorry. I didn't know. I only thought..."

Harry shuddered then drew her into a hug and they both started to cry, grieving for lost family members.


End file.
